This refers to the article "Awaken the Warrior" (July 27). Mr Claude Arpi has successfully generated reader interest in Air Marshal RK Nehra's book, Hinduism & Its Military Ethos, which analyses the wars the country has witnessed in the last 2,300 years. As an avid reader of history, the subject of the book is, in fact, one close to my heart. I, too, have often wondered why foreign invaders were successful in plundering the wealth of our land.

While I agree with Air Marshal Nehra that a bogus interpretation of the values of ahimsa (non-violence), shanti (peace) and satya (truth) have done Indians no good especially in recent times, I differ on the contention that Hindus adjusted easily to slavery. A young person studying history written by Western and Muslim scholars would hardly be informed that Indian rulers were far from weaklings.

Apart from Spain, from the Reconquista of which we may learn a lesson or two, India has been the only country that time and again gave a bloody nose to Islamic invaders. Within a few decades of Muhammad's demise, most of the ancient civilisations in Persia, Turkey and Egypt had been overrun by them. But India was never a cakewalk.

Until Muhammad bin Qasim finally took control of Sindh, earlier campaigns resulted in a total rout of the Caliphate forces. Under Bappa Rawal, Hindus accomplished a great victory. But unlike Spanish Christians or the Arabic forces, they had no way of converting the defeated into their own religion. Neither did they pursue them to finish them once and for all. Later they beat a retreat under threat of arson on their deity of Aditya by Muslims. The Hindu Shahi kings of Afghanistan were defeated by deceit after their initial victories. And, more importantly, probably owing to their ethical bent stemming from their religion, the Hindus never managed to give their victories the final flourish.

An interesting fact. Khan is an identity tag for Muslims nowadays but few know that Hulagu Khan, a descendent of the great Kublai Khan, was Buddhist by faith. He defeated and executed the Caliph of Baghdad. Arabia was ruled by Buddhist Mongols for a couple of decades during the 12th century before the rulers converted to Islam.